During the third week of February, Israeli forces continued to shoot at, beat
and abuse unarmed Palestinian civilians, shell Palestinian residential areas,
hold Palestinian towns and villages under siege and pursue their policy of extra-judicial
execution. In the past week, Israeli soldiers and police reportedly caused the
death of eight Palestinians; four through shelling Palestinian towns, one by
assassination, two during a car chase by the Israeli police, and one who was
prevented from crossing an Israeli checkpoint. First: Violating the right to
life and security of person 1. Deaths * 29 year-old Isam Al Taweel, a father
of 3 from Hebron, died on February 16 after being shot in the chest. According
to eyewitness statements to LAW, Isam was on the way to his home in Al Karantina
opposite the Jewish Avraham Avino enclave in Hebron when he got caught in the
Israeli shelling of Al Karantina. He bled for some time before anyone could
reach him. According to LAW’s information, five other Palestinians were wounded
in the attack; Malaka Al Bakeri (42) was hit by shrapnel in the back, and Nawal
and Yacoub Marar were hit by shrapnel in their home. * Shakir Al Manasra, 23,
from Bani Na’eem, Hebron, also died on Friday 16 February, when Israeli forces
bombed the cow farm where he worked. Eyewitness Jalal Faraj, 26, told LAW that
he and three of his colleagues were sitting in a room in the farm at 8:30pm
when Israeli forces started bombing. Ahmad Faraj Allah, 33, who was shot in
the stomach during the attack, died on Sunday 18 February. Ahmad had a brother
named Faraj who was killed in the first Intifada, and Ahmad had married his
dead brother’s wife. Also injured in the attack was Manasra’s brother Yusif
Mawas, 30, who was shot in the right shoulder and left arm. * Usama Al Kurbi,
18, from Beit Sahour, was killed on Thursday 20 February when the rood of his
house caved in on him due to shelling by the Israeli army. According to LAW’s
documentation, many parts of Beit Sahour such as Al Iraq quarter, the environs
of the Saint Nicholas cathedral and the Orthodox Centre were shelled by Israeli
artillery and automatic gunfire from Gilo settlement. Usama was buried under
the wreckage for several hours before his family and fire-fighters could pull
him out. * 76 year-old Abdul Rahman Jum’a from Beit Leid in Tulkarem died when
Israeli soldiers delayed the car taking him to hospital for one hour. Eyewitness
Muhanad Jum’a told LAW: “At 10am on Friday, we took Jum’a in a car to hospital
in Tulkarem after he felt a severe chest pain. When we arrived at the checkpoint
at the entrance of Tulkarem, we told the Israeli soldiers there that we had
with us a very ill man who needed to be hospitalised. They refused to let us
pass, but held us at the checkpoint for an hour. Finally, when we arrived at
the hospital an hour and a half later, the doctor told us that Jum’a had passed
away half an hour ago. The road to the hospital normally takes half an hour.”
* Mohammad Al Hawamda, 25, from Al Samou’a, Hebron, and Omar Abu Tarash, 20,
from Al Kiya in Bir Al Sabia’a, died when Israeli police chased Al Hawamda’s
car, which hit that of Abu Tarash. Ismail Al Hawamda, 25, was injured in the
incident. Al Hawamda’a was on his way home after a working day in Bir Al Sabia’a
(within the borders of Israel). * Mahmoud Al Madani, 25, from Balata refugee
camp, was reportedly assassinated in an ambush by Israeli Special Forces on
February 19. He was shot and killed as he left the camp’s mosque accompanied
by his 21 year-old brother at 2:30 pm. LAW Society’s documentation indicates
that Mahmoud and his brother Nur Al Deen left Fatouh Mosque in Balata. As they
passed the south-eastern entrance to the camp near Jerusalem Road on their way
to their grocery store, Mahmoud was shot twice in the chest, once in the waist,
and once in the left shoulder. He was taken to Rafidia hospital in Nablus, where
he was pronounced dead at 6:30 pm. Mahmoud’s brother, Nur Al Deen, stated to
LAW that the shots had been fired from very close range. According to the initial
medical report, the distance was estimated at 15 metres. Nur Al Deen added that
the bullets had exploded inside his brother. According to LAW’s investigation,
immediately after Mahmoud had been shot soldiers at the nearby Israeli military
outpost on Mount Jirzeem opened fire, seemingly to cover up the work of the
Special Forces and aid their retreat from the area. Later that evening, the
official Israeli media declared, “A Special Forces unit south of Nablus today
opened fire at a Palestinian man, wanted by the security services for being
involved in acts of aggression such as explosions inside Israel, and critically
wounded him.” 2. Injuries 84 Palestinians were injured when Israeli forces attacked
Palestinian protesters in Hebron, Al Bireh and Deir Nitham and in the shelling
of Al Bireh. 6 of the wounded were hit with live ammunition, 33 with steel bullets
and 14 with shrapnel. The rest suffered teargas inhalation. The following Palestinians
protesters were wounded on 16 February when Israeli forces broke into the village
of Deir Nitham, west of Ramallah: 1. Tayseer Al Araj (16), hit by a steel bullet
in the right arm 2. Ahmad Salih (12), hit by a steel bullet in the left arm
3. Mohammad Mazhar (14), hit by a steel bullet in the right arm 4. Abdullah
Salih (17), hit by a steel bullet in the genitalia 5. Tariq Ameer (14), hit
by a steel bullet in the chest 6. Hassan Eed (18), hit by a steel bullet in
the spine 7. Fadel Ziyad (26), hit by a steel bullet in the left foot 8. Shahir
Mas’ad (16), hit by a steel bullet in the right shoulder 9. Fadi Mas’ad (19),
hit by a steel bullet in the left foot Also on 16 February, Israeli forces,
equipped with tanks and bulldozers, stormed into Al Salam quarter south of Rafah
at 3am and demolished seven homes. They also knocked down some greenhouses as
well as several chicken farms. They invaded the home of Nasser Al Sha’er, held
his family hostage and used them as a human shield until 8pm. During that time
they used Al Sha ’er’s house as a military outpost from which they wounded the
following people: 1. Mousa Abu Mu’amar (14), hit by shrapnel in the right leg
2. Hassan Al Satri (14), hit by shrapnel in the head 3. Muhyi Mansour (27),
hit by shrapnel in the head 4. Yusra Awida (31), shot in the left foot 5. Mohammad
Abu Kuus (10) shot in the left foot In a separate incident, Israeli soldiers
wounded the following Palestinians near Netsarim junction: 1. Abdul Rahman Al
Hajar (15), shot in the left leg 2. Hazim Said (15), shot and slightly wounded
in the head 3. Nasser Al Nabaheen (16), shot and slightly wounded in the head
4. Hassan Ghazal (17), hit by a steel bullet in the head 5. Mohammad Al Abed
(15), shot in the stomach 6. Khaled Akil (20), shot in the stomach 7. Ghanam
Bader (12), shot in the left thigh At 11:30 am, also on 16 February, 16 year-old
Mohammad Abu Hamida from Khan Younis was cycling on the main road to Rafah when
a military jeep hit him and left him bleeding on the road. The boy suffered
a broken arm and bruising all over his body. In Hebron, on the same day, Israeli
forces stationed at Al Samou’a entrance shot 25 year-old Mohammad Abu Jadayil
in the chest. Medical staff at Al Ahli hospital stated that doctors there had
performed surgery on Mohammad, removing his left kidney and spleen. His spinal
cord was also severely damaged, and he is currently in intensive care. Yusif
Abu Rabee’a, 21, from Al Fawar refugee camp, was severely beaten by Israeli
soldiers. 11 year-old Munthir Abu Warda from the same refugee camp was hit in
the head by a steel bullet, and 16 year-old Ameena Al Khateeb was hit by a rock
during a settler attack on Beit Enun. At 4 pm on Sunday 18 February, Israeli
forces shooting Palestinians in Al Salam quarter wounded the following: 1. Mahdi
Omar, 15, shot in the right thigh 2. Ahmad Abu Taha, 14, shot in the back (he
is now semi-paralysed) 3. Asam’a Kishta, 18, was hit in the shoulder by shrapnel
4. Mohammad Matar, 14, was hit in the back by shrapnel At 3 pm the following
day (19 February), Israeli forces in the same location wounded the following
Palestinians: 1. Mahmoud Zu’rub, 21, shot in the pelvis 2. Buthaina Madi, 25,
shot in the right foot On the same day the following were wounded in Hebron’s
H2 area: 1. Khaled Al Masri, 6, suffered teargas inhalation 2. Noah Al Shaludi,
35, suffered bruises and fractures 3. Ni’ma Muhsen, 47, suffered bruises and
scratches 4. Sumaya Abu Dawood, 11, suffered bruises and scratches On Tuesday
20 February, 16 year-old Ra’ida Al Atrash was admitted to Alia hospital. Ra’ida
told LAW, “At 7:30am, I was standing by the cemetery wall opposite the Avraham
Avino Jewish enclave in Hebron with another three girls from my school - Al
Yacobiya Basic School. We were on our way to school and there were soldiers
on the street. Suddenly I felt something hit me in my right arm and left leg.
I was taken to a nearby UNRWA clinic, and after some x-rays I was told I had
been hit by rubber-coated steel bullets. Israeli forces stationed west of Rafah
wounded the following Palestinians on the same day: 1. Ahmad Ali, 13, was shot
in the right arm 2. Ali Abu Hussein, 15, was shot in the right thigh 3. Mahmoud
Abu Ataya, 9, broke his leg as he ran away from the shooting At Netsarim junction
on the same day, Yusif Amar (35) from Al Braij refugee camp was shot in the
right foot and Mohammad Younis (14) from Al Nsirat refugee camp was shot in
the right thigh. Second: Shelling In the afternoon of Friday 16 February, Israeli
forces shelled Al Balo’a area north of Al Bireh. In Nablus, they shelled a transmission
station and destroyed it as well as some nearby water tanks. On Saturday 17
February, Israeli forces stationed at the Ramat Yashai enclave in Hebron bombed
Bab Al Zawyi, Al Shalala Street, and Al Sheikh quarter in downtown Hebron. Two
bombs exploded in Bab Al Zawyi, wounding: 1. Siham Jaradat, 40, hit by shrapnel
in the head 2. Nadir Shaheen, 36, hit by shrapnel in the head 3. Jihad Ghaith,
35, hit by shrapnel in the right foot 4. Khaled Arafa, 15, hit by shrapnel in
the face 5. Isa Tanina, 40, hit by shrapnel in the right knee 6. Wadee’a Al
Hadad, 48, hit by shrapnel in the right shoulder 7. Jihad Iskafi, 13, hit by
shrapnel in the right shoulder 8. Fahid Al Natshi, 24, hit by shrapnel in the
right leg and the face 9. Zeidan Iskafi,45, hit by shrapnel in the head and
the back 10. Nidal Al Haymuni, 24, hit by shrapnel in the right leg 11. Zeidan
Iskafi, 20, hit by shrapnel in the head Israeli forces stationed at the Tshiva’a
military outpost near Tayaseer, Jenin, bombarded residential houses in the village,
damaging several homes as well as electricity and telephone cables. The shelling
also damaged the doors and windows of Tayaseer School. Sbaih Sbaih (21) was
wounded by shrapnel in the shoulder. On Sunday 18 February, Israeli shelling
of Khan Younis refugee camp wounded 8 year-old Nada Abu Abida, who was hit by
shrapnel in different parts of the body, and 10 year-old Suha Abu Akir, who
was hit by shrapnel in the neck. Faik Abu Akir’s store and the UNRWA building
in the camp received damage to their windows and doors. The following were wounded
in the shelling that evening: 1. Mohammad Abu Azam, 8, hit by shrapnel in the
eye 2. Khalid Shath, 27, shot in the right arm 3. Jamal Al Shareef, 40, hit
by shrapnel in the foot 4. Ahmad Sahloul,16, hit by shrapnel in the waist 5.
Ghasan Al Saibi,18, hit by shrapnel in the right shoulder 6. Ala Safad,12, hit
by shrapnel in the face On 19 February 22 Israeli forces shelled Al Bireh, directly
hitting: 1. The home of Basil Al Shawa, destroying the balcony and sewage network
as well as burning the furniture 2. The National School for the Blind, destroying
a bedroom and some windows and terrorising the pupils 3. The offices of Beit
Al Shi’ir Al Falastini, destroying the façade, the external doors and the entrance
On the same day, Israeli forces shelled Maryland Theme Park in Tulkarem from
Beit Haifar, injuring Ys Brandt Sandu from Holland and Martin Vwrgn from South
Africa. Vwrgn told LAW, “Yesterday, 19 February, the workers of Maryland had
a break between 7 and 8pm. During that time, we heard gunshots coming from the
left of Maryland. The shooting went on for at least an hour. Two or three bullets
came towards us, so we started to run for safety. I realised that myself and
a friend had been wounded. There was no shots at that moment; we just felt a
burning feeling. My friend fell to the ground and I saw blood coming from his
leg; then I realised that I was also bleeding. Some people found more gold-coloured
bullets. Both of us had been hit by bullets from the left. We were taken straight
to hospital for treatment. Everything happened so fast that we had no idea who
was shooting at us. If the bullets had been shot a little higher the wounds
would probably be much worse. We are both ok now but we will remember this for
the rest of our lives.” The homes of the following peoples were hit during the
shelling of Beit Jala: 1. Zu’rub (one room was burnt) 2. Ilyas Matar (partial
damage and one room was burnt) 3. Isa Ghnaim (furniture and windows destroyed)
4. Ilyas Nazal (furniture and windows destroyed) 5. Mohammad Shananir (furniture
and windows destroyed) 6. Johnny Sam’an (furniture and windows destroyed) 7.
Ilyas Khouri furniture and windows destroyed) 8. George Nazal (furniture and
windows destroyed) 9. Sameer Kantar (furniture and windows destroyed) 10. Khalid
Shaker (furniture and windows destroyed)) 11. Nasar Khamees (furniture and windows
destroyed) 12. Frida Abu Eed (furniture and windows destroyed) On the same day,
houses were also shelled in Al Khader village, damaging the homes of Sa’id and
Mohammad Salah. On Tuesday February 20, Israeli forces shelled Beit Sahour and
Bethlehem from Gilo settlement, killing Ibrahim Usama Al Kurbi. Third: Siege
and curfew The curfew of the occupied part of Hebron continues, with 40,000
Palestinians being held under curfew for two consecutive weeks, including 12,000
students unable to go to school. The Israeli policy of siege and collective
punishment has deprived Palestinians from travelling from one place to another
and Muslim pilgrims from travelling to Mecca. LAW Society reiterates the following:
1. Israeli forces are committing increased crimes and using the Israeli war
arsenal against unarmed Palestinian civilians. 2. They continue to shell Palestinian
residential areas. 3. They continue to use collective punishment against Palestinians
and deprive them of their basic human rights. 4. Israeli forces use settlements
as bases from which to bomb Palestinian areas LAW demands: 1. The Israeli government
to immediately stop its crimes and collective punishment against Palestinians.
2. An international investigation committee to be set up, working according
to UN Resolution 1322. 3. The Contracting Parties to the 4th Geneva Convention
to ensure Israel’s compliance with the Convention. 4. Palestinians to be placed
under international protection. 5. The international community to put an end
to these crimes and the Israeli occupation.

LAW – The Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment
is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to preserving human rights through
legal advocacy. LAW is affiliate to the International Commission of Jurists
(ICJ), Fédération Internationale des Ligues de Droits de l’Homme (FIDH), World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and Member of the Euro- Mediterranean Human
Rights Network